Blog courtesy of Lucy Siegel from Bridge Global Strategies

Should startups hire PR agencies? According to authors of a couple of recently-published articles, the answer is a loud and vehement “no.” They’re wrong.

Here’s why:

  • Wendy Marx, CEO of Marx Communications, notes on her blog that results of a CEO survey show that startups that engage in PR activities are 30 percent more successful in getting early funding than those that don’t.
  • Marx also pointed out that well-known VC firms, such as Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia, have started to provide public relations themselves for their portfolio companies, using internal PR staff.
  • The biggest reason given for a startup not to hire a PR firm is that the cost is not worth the expense and/or that PR can be done more cost-efficiently in-house. This is a misconception. One in-house person, even at a mid level of experience, can’t provide the expertise that an agency can, since the agency can bring in senior talent whenever needed. In addition, the cost of hiring an internal staff member is considerably more than the salary of that individual, since benefits, working space and equipment also need to be factored in. For a deeper analysis of this, see my blog post on the hidden costs of internal PR.
  • Another reason given for not hiring an external PR firm is that startup executives should just get to know the key media themselves and reach out directly to those media. This is impractical for a couple of reasons. First, if you’re spending the time doing this well, you’re taking crucial time away from running your business. Secondly, it’s a hell of lot harder to break through to those key media than most people think. Good luck – give it a try.
  • PR is a much more complex and comprehensive service than simply arranging for media coverage. Before going to the media, decisions must be made on the competitive positioning of the company and its products (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), target audiences, key messages to each audience and overall communications strategies. Few startups have internal staff with the experience to do a good job of this important strategic work. Outside counsel is very helpful in this process even if a company has stellar internal PR staff.
  • Most startup executives have little or no communications background. They may be tech or retail or design geniuses, but they don’t know how to promote themselves, their companies or their products.  It isn’t easy to master our highly competitive media environment to be heard by potential customers.
  • Frequently startup executives confuse promotion and public relations with each other. There’s a common misconception that it’s a good idea to issue as many press releases as possible, whether or not there’s any news to announce. A PR agency can provide objective counsel about what’s news and what isn’t, how to make news when there isn’t any, and when it is (and is not) appropriate to issue a news release. An external agency will write news releases professionally so they will be well-received by the media.
  • It’s also harder for internal staff to be objective about their own communications.  Even when the internal public relations manager is objective, (s)he is often overruled by senior executives who want to paint the rosiest possible picture of the company, even when they can’t back up what they say with facts.
  • Frequently, startup executives have trouble describing their companies and products briefly and in laymen’s terms. An experienced PR professional can do this, but we’ve found that internal PR managers often have trouble getting their bosses to go along with their short descriptions. Sometimes an outside consultant is better able to persuade executives to do the proper thing.
  • Even when a startup does get significant media coverage, the numbers of people who actually see that coverage are not as impressive as they used to be. It requires savvy use of other communications techniques, including social media and direct marketing, to spread the word about that media coverage. This is part of the service package that PR firms provide.

Please comment if I left out any important reasons for startups to have PR firms. I’d also like to hear some startup executives’ input on what I’ve written here.

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR or marketing campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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